The Star reports that staff complaints about the derelict state of the Bank of Lisbon building in downtown Joburg weeks before a blaze engulfed it were dismissed as “delinquent”.  

A Gauteng Department of Health (DoH) employee has asked the Public Protector (PP) to investigate a number of issues believed to have been ignored.  In a complaint lodged last week, the employee asked the PP to investigate which senior officials had continuously ignored complaints from staff regarding the building which housed thee provincial departments.  But the DoH has denied allegations that senior officials had not taken steps to deal with complaints regarding safety issues at the building.  Three firefighters lost their lives on duty when the building caught fire in September 2018.  “We see this as a case of complete negligence and disregard for people’s lives.  Our members cautioned about the unsafe building but were dismissed but after we appealed, they were reinstated.  Even after they returned to work, they would raise issues about the unsafe working conditions,” said Gracia Rikhotso of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu).  Gauteng government spokesperson Thabo Masebe said the Public Prosecutor would have to deal with matters raised in the complaint, as investigations into the cause of the fire were ongoing.

• Read Sibongile Mashaba’s full report on this story at The Star

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